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Calculating EI premiums

Each year, we give the maximum insurable earnings and rate for you to calculate the amount of EI to deduct from your employees.

You have to deduct EI premiums from insurable earnings you pay to your employees. In addition, you must pay 1.4 times the amount of the employee's premiums. You may qualify for a reduction of the employer contribution if you give your employees a short-term disability plan.

Example

EI premiums you deducted from your employees for the month

$195.50

Plus: Your share of EI ($195.50 × 1.4)

$273.70

Total amount you remit for EI premiums

$469.20

You stop deducting employment insurance premiums when you reach the employee's maximum insurable earnings ($53,100 for 2019) or the maximum employee premium for the year ($860.22 for 2019). For Quebec, the maximum employee premium for 2019 is $663.75.

Note

The annual maximum insurable earnings ($53,100 for 2019) apply to each job the employee holds with different employers (different business numbers). If an employee leaves one employer during the year to start work with another employer, the new employer also has to deduct EI premiums without taking into account what the previous employer paid. This is the case even if the employee has paid the maximum premium amount during the previous employment.